Early Morning Phone Call

I don't know about you but whenever I get a phone call late at night or relatively early in the morning I worry that it might be unwanted news. When our children were teenagers phone calls late at night were particularly unnerving. As they grew up and moved away late night or early phone calls usually meant the car was broke or someone was ill.

Well I got an uncharacteristically early call this morning. Steeling myself for what news might be on the other end of the phone connection I aswered somewhat hesitantly. It was our son Jeff who was very excited to tell us that he had made the front page of the Houston Chronicle! Evil Knevel had made the top along with an article about police officers. Jeff is at the bottom of the page BUT he IS on page one!

Jeff is a high school teacher (as is his wife). Team spirit in hand he wrote a rap early in the school year about the football team and it's this team spirit that had been the emphasis of the article in the paper.

Jeff's a cool guy and we're happy for his 15 minutes of fame!

So glad that today started out with that wonderful early morning phone call. I only wish all phone calls could be such happy news!

la bella

Irish Dancers Celtic Nations Festival down here in the Bayou

Oct 12, 2007

What a wonderful weekend we had! Friday We took the family to a delightful children's show at the Celtic Nations Festival. The little ones really enjoyed the puppet shows!! Later we all met for lunch. As usual the food at Classic Cafe was good. Matthew especially liked his desert which he seemed to be wiping all over his shirt (oh yes there was some on his nose as well). I asked him "Do you think you have to wear it?" to which he replied, "What my pants?" Once again done in by the cute remarks of a 3 year old!







Later we saw a performance of Irish Musicians. Very nice evening
indeed! I didn't know many of the songs they sang as many of them were not the ones Mom would sing to me as a child, but they were very lovely. There were jokes and storytelling as well. Here's a short clip of the evening.







Today we picked up Mom and brought her over to the Festival. She had a great time. Mom is 95 and has hearing and seeing problems. Since she can't see well, she touched lots of things, oh it did her good, bringing back memories and making her feel as though she was out shopping like she used to do. Being so elderly and in frail health she doesn't get out too much at all. We communicate with Mom using a white dry erase board. If it was Irish sayings, I'd begin it on the board and she'd repeat the remainder from memory. She wanted a Claddagh Ring for a friend who is very good to her and we did find that. She wanted 'turf' so we could burn it and she could then smell the old familiar smell of a warm peat fire from her youth. Sorry to say no one had a piece of the bog with them. Perhaps I can order it off of the internet. Did you know that you can order Irish Dirt on the internet? No joke. I ordered some and it came with Shamrock seeds.

Mom especially liked the kilts that were for sale. She'd put the material close to her eyes and try to remember what tartan it was. Lots of memories flooded back to her. Happy memories. She kept going back to the Stewart Tartan which looked like one she used to wear. She then started talking about all her family surnames in Northern Ireland. We stopped by the Coats and Arms booth and had some family crests printed up.


We saw Irish Dancers and of course her vision was poor but she could hear the heavy tapping as they danced. She commented that she once could do that too. How well I remember, especially when she thought at the age of 85 that she could still dance. (Broke more bones than we could count). But this time she resisted the urge to get out of the wheelchair and join them. Thank goodness!
The dancers were good. They are from the Metairie, Mandeville and Baton Rouge areas.

We saw a performer in the hallway and asked him to pose with mom for a picture. She asked where he was from ... Oban I wrote on her white board. Oban is on the West Coast of Scotland. She saw him opening his sporan to get out a business card for her with his photo on it. Her hand went towards the sporan and she asked if he was wearing a kilt. Thankfully she didn't pull the material over to inspect it as she'd done the others earlier! He was kind and generous with his time even though his time was limited and he was due to perform again shortly. He knelt beside her to pose with her for a picture and he began singing to her. I wrote on her board "He's singing Danny Boy" and she began to cry... tears of joy.

Outside I saw some pipers. Again I asked if they'd join her in a photo. The two of them decided before the photo op that they'd play for her. They began to play "Scotland the Brave" (which has always been one of her favorites) and another piper joined them. She was thrilled.

We took her home. She climbed right into bed with a big smile on her face, but claiming that she'd had a big day and was too tired to go eat dinner. So I tucked a scone and butter beside her incase she got hungry and kissed her 'good night and sweet dreams.'

September 30, 2007

Oh the pictures we missed! My friend says she neglected to take pictures of the snow in Utah where she lives. How I am jealous of that! Here we sit with high humidity but none of it turns to pretty flakes! She was nice enough, however, to give me the weather report and tell me what I was missing!

Also missed taking pictures of little pirates running all over my house having sword fights! The entertainment was delightful and I should have taken the pictures and captured the event!


Since it's not wise to take pictures while you are driving I wouldn't have gotten the pic of the green rubber frog flying over the back seat towards me, I also missed the little boy in the back seat who taught the froggie how.

Also missed my face when cutie pie grandson came over and commented on my cooking. I sat him at the cooking island while I was cooking and gave him chocolate milk and cookies as a treat. I was cooking spaghetti sauce and gosh it smelled good. I was starving (I had no cookies) and the smell of that red gravy just was wonderful. While stirring the pot I said, " Do you know what that smells like?" Matthew just looked at me and replied, "I dunno. What? Heartburn?"

Where did he even learn about heartburn? I mean he's only 3. I cannot and will not claim responsibility for his heartburn education. After all, he could be thinking of his daddy's cooking or his mama's or Grandpa's.... surely not mine? I've got a reputation that is now damaged! Forget the real food, next time he comes for a visit we will bake cookies!!! Let him claim heartburn then!

So as I begin another week I'm trying to think of all the photo opportunities that are coming my way.


Yes, I've really got to get in the habit of taking pictures. I'd love to snap up some alligators but I've heard that the deer flies are biting worse than the gators at the moment.

If you see me coming .... Smile ;)

la bella ....... still in the bayou but going into the big city for a week! Lots of photo ops there.

September 25, 2007

Wiki.... There are a couple new wiki's out there that have caught my eye.

http://www.familysearchwiki.org/ In it's beginning stages but there is a good amount of information.

http://www.mormonwiki.com/ Great video on Joseph Smith

Also there is http://www.slcwiki.org/ but relatively new and not much on the site at all at this time.

http://wikitravel.org/ is from Wikipedia but for travel, info on what shots are needed, places to travel, tips, safety precautions etc. The picture on the left is the travel destination of the month!!! Looks like a great place to go, British Columbia.

http://wiki.bhgscrapbooksetc.com/ Lots of info on scrapbooking.

Lots of interesting things to read! I love the internet for all of its information.

la bella

September 23, 2007

This past weekend was so much fun. I've never been to a scrapbooking convention so I don't know how to compare what we did this past weekend to one of those but several of us got together for 3 days and just scrapped until we dropped. Lots of chatting and laughing and lots of great ideas. I have not been scrapbooking much so this was definately a delight for me! Can't wait until I get a chance to do it again.

la bella

September 22, 2007

Three. Can you remember being 3? 3 year olds are really fun to watch, they say the funniest things. Erin just recently began babysitting a 5 month old baby. 6am that first morning little Matthew who is 3 (number 4 of 5 children) came stubbling into the livingroom still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. Hunger wakes him so he generally just heads towards the kitchen, on his way there he saw his mama sitting in the livingroom with a baby in her lap. Still rubbing his sleepy eyes and scratching his head he looked at her with puzzlement and asked bewildered, "A'nor one?" "You found a'nor one?"

Yes, I love 3 year olds and the unique way they see the world.

September 21, 2007

It's not just 'odd' it's crazy, this week I read about...



A man was arrested for throwing an onion at his wife. what? this onion story just brought tears to my eyes....



Irish Defense kept dossier on UFO's for 47 years. The report said they ranged from being like fried eggs to a household iron with fins at the back. say what? must just be breakfast arriving



A politician in Germany wants marriage to last for 7 years and then be dissolved. What is this a marriage sabbatical?


A guy has filed a lawsuit against God because of weather related problems.. one lawyer's question "Who served the summons?" oops, better not stand outside in a thunderstorm!

Look Look She's Done It Again.

Yesterday a few of us went out to have ice cream at Cracker Barrel. It was to celebrate Christopher's birthday. Well that was the plan anyway-just ice cream. But the delicious smells of hot dinners wafting from their kitchen encouraged most of us to eat a yummy meal before we got down to dessert. My husband and I love Cracker Barrel.

Now I say a few of us went because it was only about half of what could have gone, but we did have 4 generations there. One great-grandparent, 2 grandparents, 4 parents and 7 children. Yep, that's about half ;)

We played musical chairs at the table the first first minutes confusing our server, Marcy. My mom who is 95 and mostly deaf and mostly blind communicates by the use of a dry erase board (she does have a couple hearing aides as well). But the lighting in the restaurant and the background noises made hearing and seeing almost impossible for her. So that Mom wouldn't be totally bored I moved her in between a 6 year old and a 18 month old. She adores children and so was thrilled by their touches and giggles.

Brian confiscated the dry erase board and began drawing. He has a huge fascination with tractor trailers and so began sketching them (Brian plans on being an Ice Road Trucker). Spencer was on the other side of 'Maw Maw'. He was all giggles and kept giving her his pacifier to hold. She really didn't know what to do with it and so just held it as she tried to eat. Every now and then he'd take it back and then return it to her.

I thought it funny and took a photo.

Matthew and I were sitting across the table a few seats down. Matthew is 3 and is always taking his younger brother's pacifier, sometimes hiding it behind or under things, sometimes pocketing it, but mostly just taking it for his own personal use. We are constantly chasing Matthew when this happens (which Matthew thinks is pretty funny).

Matthew sees that his 'Maw Maw' has Spencer's pacifier and starts yelling "She's got it, She's got it. She's doing it again!" "Take a picture"

Matthew has my camera and is trying to take a photo. Maw Maw never knew that she'd been tattled on by Matthew. All she knew was that she'd had a lovely afternoon out with the family and that her great grandchildren are getting taller by the day. Mostly she's good at guessing which child it is by their height but they are all growing fast at the moment.

We all had a lovely Saturday afternoon out together, the weather was beautiful, no rain and a lot less heat than we've had in a while. The sun was shining, but mostly it was great because we were all together. We sat on the front porch and just enjoyed the day as we rocked back and forth. There is something very relaxing about rocking in an old fashioned rocking chair watching a checkers game.

He Was a Naughty Naughty Boy

Little Chris was a naughty naughty boy. Oh dear, he'd been caught! And for that he got a cup of Koolaide and a candy bar!!!

What? Did I hear right? Naughty boys get rewarded? Hey where were these rules when I was growing up? I can still hear my mother yelling at me, I still hear her disappointment (which frankly was much worse than the yelling), and I can still remember having to go outside and pick my own switch when things REALLY got bad. Never do I remember getting a reward. Hum.... Let's back up a bit and find out more about this naughty naughty thing little Chris did.

When Mommy was busy cooking and Daddy was reading a book Chris snuck into Daddy's closet and found a bottle. He thought himself very smart because he figured out how to open it. He even tasted it, some got onto his hands. Ooops caught in the act. "Oh Hi Mommy" Chris said, "Where did you come from? Aren't you supposed to be in the kitchen or somewhere?"

Chris's Mommy wasn't buying that "I didn't do anything" act. Then Mommy got a frown on her face, Chris dosen't like it when Mommy frowns and tells him he's been naughty. Chris just figured he'd been a brilliant little boy! Why didn't Mommy see it that way too?

Mommy called someone on the phone and next thing he knew he was taking a bath and drinking Koolaide - 'cool' Chris thought 'real cool'!

Mommy questioned little Chris about the bottle, but he refused to talk about it other than to say that it was Daddy's bottle (so I guess Daddy must be the one to get into trouble!) It made perfect sense to Chris, why didn't Mommy understand that? It WAS Daddy's bottle afterall. If she wanted to know something about that bottle shouldn't she ask Daddy? That's what little Chris thought.

Mommy then called Gramma to tell her Chris had been naughty and that the bottle contained rubbing alcohol and that Mommy had to watch to see if he looked drunk. Chris didn't know what drunk was, he was too busy playing in the tub and drinking his Koolaide and feeling like a brilliant boy! Gramma wanted to know why he needed sugar. Chris's Mommy said that the lady from Poison Control explained that because of the boot sealer his blood sugar might go down and that Mommy should give him some sugar to correct that.

So Gramma told Mommy that she had better give that boy a candy bar!!! Chris always felt he loved Gramma but now he knows it for sure!!! What a family.

Gramma must get her wisdom from 'her' Mama. She's the old lady that likes to give out M&M's at breakfast and tells worried Mama's not to fret because it's not like ANYONE else would do it!!!

And so that's why Chris's naughty adventure landed him in the tub with Koolaide and a candy bar.

Oh yes, Chris has promised to stay away from Boot Sealer and Daddy promises to put his things up higher out of Chris's reach and Mommy promises to reward Chris when he does something good like eat his vegetables. She also promises to smile more often. Great Gramma said that she isn't going to make any promises that she doesn't intend on keeping, she also said that she's running low on M&M's.

Gramma says : The moral of this story is that at any moment a bad situation can turn sweet!!!

The Difficult Things of Life

This week I had to face up to one of the difficult things of life. My husband and I went to the cemetary and ordered my father's grave marker. Actually the VA had sent a marker so I just had a few decisions to make but it was still hard. There I sat with a very compassionate lady and my husband and I felt as though my mind just wouldn't function properly. It's been 3 1/2 months since my dad's death and yet I still get this paralyzing thing that happens when I need to make decisions. Mostly my husband has been handling things and helping with decisions, frankly I don't know how I would have managed without him. We've decided on a joint marker to be shared with my mother. Mom is still here, in fact, she's just had her 95th birthday party. Communication with her is difficult because of hearing and sight loss. But we finally made the decisions and got her approval on the markers for both her and dad.

There's the little girl inside of me that just doesn't want to handle these things. But as a loving daughter I know it's a duty that must be performed. My father died just before his 90th birthday. He was active right up until the month before his death. He lived a long and blessed life. He did whatever he could to prepare paperwork etc for us, but there is so much to do. I think it's those phone calls that have to be made explaining that he's passed on that can be most difficult. Perhaps it's because I must actually say it out loud that he's gone.

My birthday is in 2 weeks. He prepared a card for me, knowing that he wasn't 'long for this earth' as he called it. The sad thing is that I've put that card somewhere and can't locate it. It seems that in the last 3 1/2 months I've misplaced a lot of things. I find them, then I misplace them again. So I feel that eventually I will find that card that he got ready for my birthday. In the end he was just trying to wrap things up here on earth before he moved on. It's the comfort that I have knowing that he's with his mama, papa and loving sister now that helps when the grief tries to overwhelm me.

His mother died when he was a teenager, his father when he was in his thirties and his sister 30 years ago. Dad spent a good portion of his life longing for the companionship of his family. In his last days when he could still speak and be understood he had visions of his sister and then one where he was just talking to his mother. This gives me comfort.

As I've lived thru the events of the past few months I know it's going to be repeated in the not too distant future when it's my mother's turn to return home.

Yes there are things that we must face up in life that we'd prefer to postpone. I'll feel better when I visit Dad's grave and see things looking proper. Today I'm just glad that the hard decisions have been made and that there don't seem to be anymore decisions to make in the near future.

Two Little Feet

Today I am grateful for two little feet.

I received the happy news that my husband's neice and her husband are now proud parents of a baby girl. Lucy weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces and measured 21 inches. That's pretty good size baby for a tiny mama. Dale sent pictures and that wee baby is so cute.

This couple has been trying to have a baby for years and I so happy that everything went well and mama and baby are doing fine. I know that this baby is going to be a lucky child to have such devoted parents. Both Angie and Dale are over the moon with joy.

I never had any difficulty in getting pregnant, so I never quite understood what couples when thru when infertility was an issue. There are many things in my life that I just took for granted and being able to get pregnant was one of them. Seeing what this neice and nephew have gone thru on their long road to parenthood has me realize just how blessed I have been in the past.

Welcome Baby Girl.

Always Room For One More

Years ago there was a children's book that I loved to read to my children titled, There's Always Room for One More. Written by Sorche Nic Leodhas.



There was a wee house in the heather-

Twas a bit o a but and a ben

And in it there lived all together

Lachie Mac Lachlan

and his wife and barins to the number of ten


So he hailed every traveler that passed by his door.

Said Lachie MacLachlan, "There's room galore.

Och, come awa' in! There's room for one more,

Always room for one more!"



Sometimes I think I am living that book. We're leaving on vacation in a few days and it seems that the list of who is going on the trip rises and falls like a wave. I got a call tonight and looks like it's on the rise again. Emily is going to try to make the trip with her little family too. Just as well I'm married to a sweet man that doesn't mind changing reservations at a moments notice.



I grew up with just one brother, I remember thinking that it would be lovely to be in a big family. That wish came true with marriage and the six little ones that followed. We now have 10 grandchildren as well. Sometimes a simple family dinner can look like a company picnic.


Several years ago it was coming up to Thanksgiving and we really didn't know how many would show for dinner. I have a wee bit of my mother in me and I really want to know the exact number of expected guests so I can plan and worry and worry and plan. I knew to expect at least 23 and I was coming down with a respiratory 'thing'. I visited the doctor and told him that he really HAD to help me get well. I explained about the upcoming dinner and guests, he wanted to know how many that I had coming. I said at present 23 but I'm afraid that the list is growing by the hour. He gave me a shot and said if I didn't feel any better to tell my husband to just serve hot dogs! As crazy as that sounds it made me laugh and feel better. The good news is that I did feel better and we had a great time all 40 of us. At 9pm the count was still 35. Whew! Oh yes, none of us ate hot dogs that day.

So as we are about to pack up and head out to vacationland and plans continue to change and the size of the travel group swells....

"Oh, come awa'in! There's room for one more, Always room for one more.